"Yeah, but he's on STEROIDS!"

Walk into any commercial gym and you'll spot at least one of "Those guys". The Bro with the rainbow tank top, fake diamond earrings, backwards ball cap that is 2 sizes too big, the basketball shorts that go down to his ankles, and his brand new J's. He has absolutely no idea what he is doing in the gym as he bounces from machine to machine and never once touches a barbell. As much as you hate this kid you can't help but watch him everyday. Coming in day in and day out and accomplishing absolutely nothing. But one day you notice something, all of a sudden that kid got pretty big! His douche bag status is still through the roof but you can't deny that he looks like he put on about 40 pounds of muscle in about 2 weeks. In this situation, it's safe to say "Yeah, but he's on steroids."

However, in the case of elite strength athletes and Body Builders, it is not okay to say "Yeah, but he's on steroids." When looking at the world's strongest man, Brian Shaw, world record holding powerlifter, Dan Green, Russian Olympic weightlifter, Dmitry Klokov, or 2013 Mr. Olympia winner, Phil Heath, to assume that their accomplishments should be fully credited to steroid use proves that you have no understanding of what it takes to be great. Not much frustrates me more than when I share a story/video/accomplishment of one of these greats and someone asks me, "Is he on steroids?" When I respond, "Yes, I'm sure he is", they will automatically discredit the feat of strength with "Oh, well that's cheating."

Do steroids work? I'm sure they do. Do steroids make you stronger? I'm sure they do. Do steroids help you recover faster and train harder? I'm sure they do. You know what else works? Proper training. You know what else makes you stronger? Eating 10,000 calories a day and not missing one day of training in preparation for your contest. Being 6 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 440 pounds makes you strong. Saying that steroid use is the only reason these people have broken records or won titles is just your excuse for not pursuing anything great.

If you walked into any 24 hour fitness and gave everyone in the gym a full dosage of steroids for 1 year, I would be willing to bet that none of them will ever squat 1,000 pounds, clean and jerk 400 pounds, or even qualify for Mr. Olympia. The level of determination, the discipline of dieting, and the countless repetitions needed to be an elite athlete is way more than any typical gym goer can comprehend. Steroids will make you hit a baseball harder but many people forget that getting the bat to hit the baseball is the hardest part.

Am I promoting steroid use? Absolutely not. Many people fail to realize their genetic potential and automatically use steroids or Pro hormones as a shortcut rather than a tool. Dave Tate has said that Steroids are your "Ace card." It will propel you to the next level but you will probably not move past that. If you need steroids to start on the high school football team, you'll probably start but you won't make it to college ball. If you need steroids to start college ball, you will start college ball but you will probably not make it to the pros. If you need steroids to start in the Pros, you might get drafted but you won't last very long. And so on and so on.    

So, rather than using steroids; eat every meal as if it were your last, drink milk like water, sleep like a king, train with a violent mentality, learn from the best, and always, always, Train Untamed!